Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carrier for separated electronic components and to a method for visual inspection of separated electronic components.
Description of Prior Art
During the process of manufacturing electronic components, such as more particularly semiconductor products, these are usually separated (which can also be referred to as singulated or divided) from a larger unit of electronic components in which the electronic components are produced. Examples of such larger assemblies of electronic components are strips, boards and wafers, in which many optionally encapsulated electronic components are brought together as one whole. During the subsequent separation (also referred to as release, singulating or individualizing) of the electronic components use is made of, among other methods, more classical machining processes such as sawing and milling, of liquid jet cutting or laser cutting. The separated electronic components are then usually set down on—or in—a carrier. With the carrier as product carrier the separated electronic components can be transported to one or more subsequent processing stations. A specific process following the separation is the visual inspection, wherein the external diameter and other aspects of the components are examined. According to the prior art the separated electronic components are placed on a metal carrier plate, which carrier plate is then displaced past a camera system (vision system) such that image recordings of the separated electronic components can be made with the camera. This makes it possible to select the separated electronic components, for instance according to quality, such as for instance by removing separated electronic components which deviate from the norm. A drawback of the existing methods of inspecting separated electronic components is that they have a limited accuracy, for instance because they produce a distracting brightness during a visual check. Another problem of the existing carriers for separated electronic components is that the possible presence of uncontrolled electrostatic charge (Electro Static Discharge, ESD) may damage the often extremely sensitive electronic components.
An object of the present invention is to provide a carrier for separated electronic components whereby the chance of waste as a result of ESD is reduced compared to the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a carrier and a method for visual inspection of separated electronic components with which the quality of visual inspection can be increased.